What effect does spawning have on the mussel quality?
All mussels spawn. Minor spawning takes place periodically during the year and is the reason for minor variations in meat yield. Large scale community spawning follows predictable cycles and is more or less intense depending on the year. 1999 was a year of intense spawning and might explain why all of us down on the farm are so tired. Anyway, mussels north of Cape Cod are influenced more by the Labrador current and the community spawn occurs during the spring and summer. Mussels south of Cape Cod are influenced by the Gulf Stream and spawn in the fall of the year.
